HCMV is an ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen that is one of the leading causes of fatal disease in AIDS and bone marrow transplant patients. The long-term goal of this project is to identify and characterize mechanisms involved in viral infection in the peripheral blood. HCMV replication studies in primary monocyte/macrophage has been hampered by poor growth in these cells, but we have demonstrated efficient HCMV replication in primary M/M. We'll examine mechanism involved in M/M differentiation & early viral events regulating HCMV activation.